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gregg: last-ditch effort for a compromise in washington today days before a new year's deadline to reach a deal or watch the economy go off the cliff. i'm. patti ann: i'm patti ann browne. they will try to avoid the across the board tax hikes for 90% of the american households and deep spending cuts. so far little to no progguess has been reported. gregg: chief white house correspondent ed henry is in the white us. ed, what do we expect out the meeting if any at all? our expectations are a little bit low. >> reporter: you're exactly right, gregg, expectations have to be low. lawmakers of both parties in conjunction with the president have missed one deadline after another. we have been saying for a couple weeks they had to get moving get this completed before christmas in order to give the house and senate time to debate and end up

voting on whatever package they come up with. now that we're days away from actually going off the fiscal cliff where these automatic massive spending cuts as well as large tax increases got into effect you have to have low expectations. it appears the white house is very confident in waiting for the republicans to make the next move. they keep saying inside the white house this is up to the republicans. they're the impediment here. when you listen to senate republican leader mitch mcconnell he basically said yesterday when he got a phone call from the president two nights ago it was the first time he heard from a democrat about the fiscal cliff negotiations, whether the president, senator reid or others in about a month, around thanksgiving. with the democrats not reaching out to senator mcconnell for a month, doesn't seem like they have been pushing very hard for a deal, gregg. gregg: has the bickering between reid and boehner sort of poisoned the negotiations past the point that, you know, maybe this meeting will help at all? >> reporter: it may have because it's really, we've seen tensions escalate ever

since before christmas when john boehner was not able to get a deal through the house where he has a very strong republican majority. he had a rebellion amongst some of his fellow conservatives. that is what held it up. senator harry reid as you say was very rough going directly after boehner yesterday. take a listen. >> the american people i don't think understand the house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. it's being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing the vast majority of the house of representatives to get what they want. >> reporter: the word dictatorship not sitting well at speaker's office of the as you can imagine his spokesman putting out a tough statement of his own saying quote, senator reid should talk less and legislate more. the house already passed legislation to avoid the entire fiscal cliff. senate democrats have not. there you go. the senators saying the

house to act. the speaker's office saying senate has to act. there is pressure building on the president to bring both house, and senate, democratic leaders all four leaders into the white house today to bring leadership down, time is running it. let's come together. gregg: adds all new meaning to the word elementary school. ed henry, thanks very much. we're looking by the way on left-hand side of your screen live on the floor of the u.s. senate. don't you know, not much happening there. patti ann: all right. republican congressman louie gohmert is responding to those comments from senator reid that we just heard, firing back at accusations that republicans are refusing to compromise. let's listen. >> i can totally sympathize with reid's remark that he can not imagine our consciences in the house because you would have to have one to imagine ours. and he has shown repeatedly,

over three years of no budget? come on. the guy has to have no conscience or he would have been embarrassed and given up leadership on his own if he had any conscience whatsoever. we have passed a bill to deal with the fiscal cliff. harry reid is becoming the ultimate cliff diver here by saying we're not going to even let our house, the senate house function. we're going to dive off the cliff and blame the republicans at every ledge down the way. gregg: cliff diving a new political sport. and senator lindsey graham also speaking out suggesting that he doubts that anything will get done during today's last-minute washington meeting. take a listen. >> anytime you announce a meeting publicly in washington it usually for political theater purposes. nothing good ever cops from it. there is one then you have to do in politics. if a president meets with a foreign leader you want to

make sure you know what will happen at the meeting. when the president calls congressional leaders to the white house it is all political theater or they have a deal. my bet it is all political theater. gregg: senator graham warned he thinks our nation will go over the cliff and president's offer to fix it does nothing other than, quote, this is a quote, damn us to becoming greece. patti ann: what would it mean if lawmakers fail to strike a deal? according to the tax policy center, 90% of the americans would see a tax hike in 2013. 121 million people would pay more in payroll taxes. families making between 40 and $65,000 a year would pay an extra two grand or so to the government. gregg: the big question, do lawmakers hope to get anything out of the last minute fiscal cliff talks or is it just for show? democratic congressman chris van hollen is the ranking member of the house budget committee. he will be joining us live coming up in the next hour

what he really thinks is going on. patti ann: well the u.s. economy meanwhile could suffer yet another major blow. looming strikes at ports from next sass to boston are threatening to put thousands of americans out of work. with potential losses for u.s. businesses ranging in the billions. >> the port of baltimore is one of maryland's largest economic generators. any type of work action that may result in a suspension or stoppage of work would have an adverse effect. >> we handle more cars, we handle more farm and construction equipment than any other u.s. port. patti ann: we're learning that adverse effect could take a toll on the economy. fox business network's stuart varney has more for us on that this morning. good morning, stu. >> good morning, patti ann. you're talking about two million tons of cargo a day. you're talking about billions of dollars of commerce every single day. if there is a port strike

that takes place possibly on sunday of this weekend, then 14,500 dock workers walk off the job at 14 major ports on the east coast and the gulf coast. directly affected? retailers who will have a hard time getting supplies in for the spring sales. the warehouses where all this stuff is stored and truckers who move it around the country. it would, as you say, patti ann, another hit to already weak economy. we had weak christmas and hand call sales. we had the start of rising gas prices. yesterday consumer confidence went way down. a big sharp drop there. if you add in a port strike, you are seriously weakening an already weak economy. patti ann: okay. so florida's governor, along with some other officials are hoping to possibly invoke the taft-hartley act to stop the international longshoreman's association from going through with this strike. do you expect that to happen? >> well the president could intervene. he could step in and say,

hold on a minute, do not walk off the job. we've got to intervene in this situation. that is seen as unlikely. the president doesn't want to get involved in this. if he did, then the existing contract will be put at a standstill. that would be to the advantage of the employers. not to the advantage of the unions. this is a very pro-union administration. it is therefore unlikely that the president with step in at this point. a strike, as of now, seems very likely, patti ann. patti ann: stu varney, thank you so much. for more on how this strike would affect the economy let's take a look at this. the gulf and east coast ports in question handle 95% of all containerized shipments from maine to texas. a 10-day lockout at west coast ports 10 years ago cost the u.s. economy an estimated one billion dollars a day. the strike would include five busiest ports in the u.s. which handle 9 million containers a year.

gregg: a fox news alert now as we get word of a deadly shooting this morning inside a police station. three officers wounded, when a gunman, suddenly opened fire inside the gloucester township station, that is in new jersey. details are scarcity hour. one witness describing a panicked scene as you can imagine. that seemed to unfold in moments. >> heard a bunch of police cars coming and they were coming from camden, all over. and then i noticed that there was a paramedic unit, an ambulance came quickly. whatever happened, the person was put into the ambulance very quickly with police officers getting into the ambulance. there was a three police car escort went toward which i thought was washington.ship trauma, there is a drama there. >> reporter: you saw one

person get into an ambulance? >> i saw them throw somebody into an ambulance. it was very, very quick. gregg: the gunman was reported killed in the incident. all three officers are expected to recover. patti ann: the nation is remembering a gull war hero today. general h. norman swards could have, or "stormin' norman" came to be known. he led the international coalition that drove saddam hussein's forces out of kuwait in 1991. president george h.w. bush who organized coalition, released a statement saying, barbara and i mourn the loss of a true american patriot and one of the great military leaders of his generation. a distinguished member of long gray line hailing from west point, again norman schwarzkopf could have defended our country and seen this great nation through our most trying international crisis. more than that he was a

decent man and dear friend. barbara and i send our condolences to has wife brenda and his wonderful family. general h. norman schwarzkopf could have was 78 years old. gregg: those are just a few of the many stories we're following this morning in "america's newsroom.". coming up, former president george h.w. bush himself is in a hospital right now. we've got an update on his health and what his staff is asking from the media today. patti ann: just when you maybe thought it was over, another storm is barreling toward the northeast. meteorologist maria molina is tracking its every move. gregg: we're learning more about the gunman who shot four firefighters on christmas eve, killing two of them right on the scene of a fire. the chilling note he left hine and what it says about the weapons he used. [ male announcer ] when was the last time something made your jaw drop?

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patti ann: an aide to president george h.w. bush offering an update on his health today.

the former president has been in a houston hospital for a month and since sunday he has been in the intensive care unit treated for a cough and persistent fever. while mr. bush admits he is a bit under the weis about as fl go. a e-mail from his chief of staff, gene becker says quote, is he sick? yes. does owe plan on going anywhere soon? no. but the noted as, would tell you to put the harps back in the closet. gregg: good sense of humor. back to our top story. all eyes on washington where president obama will meet with congressional leaders to make one more attempt to craft a deal to avert looming tax hikes and spending cuts. with most of the hoist members on vacation until sunday night, no plan in sight. how much can actually be accomplished. susan fereccio joins us now. chief congressional correspondent for the "washington examiner". we're seeing dianne feinstein there on the

senate floor. it is vacant on the house side. so in truth how much is really going to get done? >> well, gregg, a lot of this negotiations are really taking place between the leadership levels right now. we don't really have to worry about what is happening on the house floor. it's about what is going on at the white house. now, the president today is going to meet with congressional leaders from both parties, both chambers. they will sit down. they will talk about a potential deal. the president might offer something that maybe the republicans could go for. it wouldn't be a sweeping deal. gregg: like what? >> might be something smaller. well, it would be something that could potentially avoid the major tax hikes coming in january. that is the most politically treacherous for these members. they need to find a way to stop taxes going up for everybody. if there is a deal it will probably focus on the range of taxes that are coming. gregg: susan, the house passed a bill that extends all the tax cuts.

the senate passed a bill that extends it for everybody under 250. it will be who blinks first. they're pointing fingers at everybody saying it's your move. no, it's your move. my daughters do better than that. >> it is real brinkmanship here. what is interesting if you were listening what folks were saying yesterday in the house and senate that gives you some indication where this is headed. there was a conference call amongst republicans in the house. you had sort of a sense they're not really going to compromise. they're not going to pass a bill that will basically be agreed upon mostly by democrats. they want a bill that republicans can favor. in a bill like that would have major spending cuts and much fewer, much lower threshold, higher threshold on tax increases. so you don't see republicans looking like they're going to cave in. now over in the senate you heard the minority leader mitch mcconnell say, look, we know we're on the edge of the fiscal cliff right now but that doesn't mean we're just going to sign off on

anything. republicans are kind of holding their ground at this point and i believe that means there is a deal this weekend, if something happens in the white house today, it will require democrats to either change their stance on taxes and also include a promise of cuts and entitlement reform. otherwise, we really are looking at january 1 and the fiscal cliff happening. in which case a resolution won't happen until the new congress comes into session on january 3rd. gregg: that's right. we've been following not only the events on the floor but people stepping before microphones. here is representative jim moran. >> there are going to be voting sunday night and then probably watching the skins-cowboys fame in the cloakroom. then we'll, then we'll be in session on december 31st as well. gregg: what does he mean, we're going to vote sunday night? >> here's what might happen.

both parties meet with the president today at the white house. they all say look, here we are on the precipice here. let's come up with something so we stop these tax hikes from happening on january 1st. let's come together and come up with kind of a stopgap deal. in other words, something short term. this is something congress will typically do when both sides are at an impasse. they find a way to get by for a little while longer. buy themselves more time. if they come up with a deal like that, the house is coming back into session on sunday night. it is highly possible they could vote on something then. the senate could also pass it and signed into law. gregg: right. >> everyone is talking about there is not enough time. this is not true. congress can do whatever it wants. if they agree, the two parties agree congress can pass things very quickly the trick is getting both sides to agree. gregg: it is always small ball and it is never really significant. which shows an utter lack of courage. and the american people, you know, feel that way too about their representatives.

put up on the "gallup poll." "gallup poll", likelihood of averting the fiscal cliff. there you see, susan, people are losing faith. i'm actually surprised that they haven't lost all faith. >> actually i was going to say the same thing. i think that number is pretty surprising. i would think it is much higher at this point. perhaps the public is getting used to this kind of game they play chicken and at the last second they come up with a deal. remember august 2011, we thought the nation was running out of money, we would hit the debt ceiling, government would partially shut down, literally at last second they came up with something and it was averted. people probably think that will happen this time too. you're hearing all kinds of people, people trying to game this thing out and figure out whether it will happen or not. i think today's meeting at the white house is really critical. if they come out of the meeting today sign sounding optimistic, it much more

likely indeed we'll be in session this weekend to try to pass a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. gregg: susan, good to see you. by the way, on left-hand side of your screen, oddly enough, given gravity of the situation, on the floor of united states senate they're not talking about the fiscal cliff. they're not talking about the debt limit. no. they're talking about intelligence, which on the floor of the senate is a bit of an oxymoron. and i will get e-mails on that. patti ann: all right. well, big developments coming out of syria. the one of the regime's staunchest allies is signaling a possible change in position. we'll tell you who it is and what it could mean for president bashar al-assad coming up. gregg: a surfer fighting off a shark after having part of his hand literally ripped off. we'll tell you how he managed to save his own life and how his friends helped to save him as well. >> they did a marvelous job

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gregg: ♪ dominic the donkey ♪. gregg: it is not at sight

you see every day. dominic the donkey going for a stroll in indianapolis of all places. giving a cop a tough time trying to catch her. galloping around what appears to be a parking lot. >> she doesn't seem like she is bothering too many people. we keep getting calls about her. we need to get close to her. >> you will not get that close to her. i tried three days. she is wild. first time she got loose. when she get loose she enjoy her freedom and doesn't want to be caught. gregg: there is so much i can say about that. the animal now named said did i, was wandering around after a nasty blizzard and animal control is worried if she breaks free again she could get hurt. so we want her to be okay. patti ann: a major olive branch being extended in syria as nearly two years civil war but the invitation to speak to opposition

leaders was quickly turned down. an invitation from a country until now had opposed recognizing the legitimacy of the opposition at all. leland vittert is live in jerusalem right now with the latest for us. hello, leland. >> reporter: patti ann, no real surprise here that the rebels don't want to sit down with the russians. nobody views the russians as an honest broker. and number two, the rebels feel like time is on their side. for so long we said they were outgunned, outmaneuvered, syrian army had upper hand. now things on the battlefield look very different. rebels control much of the north. they're tightening the news on assad's major power bases and moving into central syrian cities they have made inroads on. they don't feel they need to stop until they kick assad out of the palace as one fighter said in a recent video. this shows some significant changes on the ground in terms of russians. another thing to invite the rebels to sit down. another thing says to the

world, russians believe number one, that the rebels have a real chance of winning and number two, russianses have serious concern. the russians have a key port on the mediterranean that their navy bases out of in syria. they're certainly worried if the rebels win or when the rebels win look like now is a possibility that they will lose that port and this diplomatic maneuver may be a chance to save a little bit of face and influence in that new syria. patti ann? patti ann: leland, what other powers are sort of participating behind the scenes in this proxy war? >> reporter: lots going on here. this is for all intent and purpose as war between iran, saudi arabia and other gulf states. iran supports the, iran supports the regime. saudi arabia, the other gulf states are supporting the rebels. they're willing to supply money and weapons for as long as both sides are willing to kill each other. they have little interest in a peace deal and a lot to lose by losing or their side

inside syria losing. this will be a very different situation in libya. in libya, qaddafi fell, everything was over. now looks like the syrian civil war could go on for years. right now, patti ann, about 45,000 people killed there sectarian violence continues and that number could easily double. back to you. patti ann: leland, thank you. gregg: a disturbing case of deja vu as a man is pushed to his death right in front of a new york city subway for the second time this month. an update on the hunt for his killer. patti ann: glow glowing tribute to a man remembered as one of the great military leaders of his generation. lawmakers and leaders stop to honor general norman schwarzkopf could have, the man who led desert storm, perhaps better known by his nickname storm minute norman ti. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you realldon't want to pay more than you have to.

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gregg: and here we go again. more snow is coming to the northeast where a major winter storm already dumped severallenses of white stuff on inland areas, snarling roads, canceling hundreds of holiday flights. the second storm expected to come off the east coast by this weekend. states from south carolina to new york already issuing severe weather warnings. of course we're tracking every move of it. meteorologist maria molina will have a live report in just a few minutes. patti ann: well more misery

heaped on a new jersey community still recovering from superstorm sandy. take a look at this. massive street flooding in the town of sea bright yesterday after a river overflowed and combined with the ocean's high tide. homeowners say they were not prepared to handle this again. >> you say to yourself, not again, not again. >> pretty scary. we went through the previous storm and it was bad. and didn't expect another one that quickly. >> it was a little bit more intense than we anticipated. winds were very strong last night. plus we're more vulnerable now because we don't have any sand on the beach. >> it is heartwrenching it really is. but we'll get through it. sea bright is a great town. patti ann: the community is even more vulnerable now because there is so little sand left on the beach after superstorm sandy. gregg: we're getting new videotape of that heavy snow out of canada. take a look at the streets covered knee deep, driving almost impossible. several accidents reported. folks are trying to shovel the snow out of the way.

there is no end in sight. >> i can not finish. then i have to start again. >> that's life. have to do the job. nobody else going to do it. >> it sucks to wait. it is cold and i'm tired and i'm hungry. gregg: and i am too. i'm really hungry. the first major storm of the winter for much of theestern onp to eight-inches of snow is recorded. patti ann: his troops called him the bear. he was better known as "stormin' norman" swards could have. tribute -- swarz could have. a service that spanned decade a statement from the president reads, quote, with the passing of general norman swards could have we

lost general sworz swarz could have strood. bob scale is military analysts and he knew general schwarzkopf could have personally. and studied moak anything under him during his time at the west point. >> hi, patti ann. >> what would you say his greatest accomplishment? >> without greatest accomplishment, winning first serious war we fought after losing vietnam. his generation and my generation were always troubled by the scar left by service in vietnam. he had two tours in vietnam and first as advisor and later as a commander. his great contribution at least to our ethos was the fact that he was going to win in desert storm. he was going to defeat iraq and was going to have the power, the military power and the authority to do

that. and so after the war, the entire nature and character of the american military changed because we were led to victory by a enormously talented and charismatic general. patti ann: you knew general schwarzkopf could have personally. how would >> he was always called the bear. beneath the facade he had a tremendous sense of humor. a great laugh. a tremendous family man and very, very devoted but not only to the military but his extended family. and for his intimates, he was always very caring and dedicated friend all the way through his live, patti ann. patti ann: he didn't actually like the nickname, storm inch norman. he did like the bear. what the military called him. you interviewed him for your book. certain victory, u.s. army in the gulf war. how do you think he would

want to be remembered? >> i think he probably would wanted to be remembered as a soldier's soldier. everybody makes a big deal of his command in the gulf war and that is probably something we all should remember. what he really wants to be known as a soldier that had great concern for soldiers. he won the silver star in vietnam by pulling his own soldiers out after minefield. he had enormous empathy for soldiers. even during the gulf war when were getting tough, one thing that would get norman to storm when he found out soldiers somehow had been neglected. i think perhaps being a great general in combat is one thing but i think his ephithet should read he was a soldier is loved soldiers. >> that is certainly moving there. swarz could have was your at

wogs point. >> he was better teacher than i was a stipt. he remembered my difficulty with anything mathematical. he had a degree from the university of southern california mechanics. he was very high in his class, the class of 56. he was very bright. most people don't understand. he had an iq north of 170. in spite of that bluster and this big giant soldier, there was a very deep, teaming intellect there. he studied history. he was a student of military history. he surrounded himself with bright officers who understood the nature and character of war. this was a great field captain to be sure but at the same time this was deeply intelligent and intellectual man, patty. patti ann: major general bob scales, thanks for the moving tribute to general schwarzkopf. >> thank you, patti ann. patti ann: we mentioned general schwarzkopf military career went back self decades. he went to valley forge

military academy in pennsylvania before graduating from west point in 1956. in 1965 he was sent to vietnam was september to advisor to south vietnamese battalion. he was appointed in commander-in-chief the u.s. army's central command. possibly his most memorable achievement, schwarzkopf commanded more than 540,000 u.s. troops and allied force of more than 200,000 in operation desert storm, liberating kuwait from the invading forces of saddam hussein. schwarzkopf retired from the army in 1992. gregg: he never wanted to profit from his celebrity and he came huge celebrity by virtue of his leadership. patti ann: yeah. gregg: but he, you know, he never really want to profit. patti ann: he was a humble man. gregg: he was. all right. russian president vladmir putin accused of playing politics with the lives of orphans after signing a controversial bill that plans any american from adopting russian children. amy kellogg live in london.

amy, why have they passed these laws? is there a bit of retaliation here? >> reporter: yes, gregg. russia is furious about a u.s. law which puts visa bans and asset freezes on 60 russians that congress believes were involved in some way or complicit in the deaths of a russian lawyer in jail in 2009. now he was investigating a massive fraud case at the request of a u.s. company in russia that believed millions of dollars it paid to the russian government in tax money were diverted, stolen by russians with connections to the government. he was 30 self -- 37 years old when he died and the allegations are that at best he was denied medical treatment while in jail. at worse he was tortured. russia has been very defiant in this case and trying him posthumously for fraud. the russian government

passed this ban, what appears to be retaliatory law prohibiting americans from adopting russian orphans, naming the law after a 2-year-old boy who died while in the custody of u.s. adopted parents a few years ago. gregg? gregg: amy, are there repercussions here? >> reporter: there certainly are. even though this law was passed pretty much unanimously in russia's parliament or duma, there are russians who are speaking out against it saying it is terribly unfair that russian orphans, little children are the losers in this political game. even russia's foreign minister, sergey lavrov says he think this is law was a big mistake and one of russia's most outspoken political activists that every single member of the duma who voted for the measure should adopt a russian child. there are 3/4 of a million russian orphans waiting for homes in need of parents and only 18,000 russians on the list for adoption.

possibly the most heartbreaking casualties here in all of this, the dozens of american families, very close to adopting russian children. families who have made numerous trips to russia to bond with these children may now never get a chance to bring them to the united states. gregg? gregg: sort of a sad story. amy kellogg live in london. amy, thanks. patti ann: have plans for the new year? we hope they include fox news's "all american new year"'s eve starting 11:00 p.m. eastern time on new year's eve. megyn kelly and bill hemmer will bring you the event live from times square along with greg gutfeld. and many others. type the letter u, text, all one word, leave a space and type a brief message and send it to 36288. utext, space, your message and 36288. watch your message on new year's eve with megyn and bill. gregg: a close call for a surfer off the coast of

australia. he managed to fight off a massive shark coming up next. patti ann: plus new developments in the christmas eve killing of two firefighters in upstate new york. we'll tell you what the gunman's note says about how he got his guns and why two other could soon be facing charges. gregg: all eyes on washington today where president obama, meeting with congressional leaders, on the fiscal crisis, but some critics claim lawmakers may actually want to go of the cliff. or maybe the president. so can a deal be reached? juan williams, mary katharine ham are going to be here in just a moment. it will be fiery. it will be feisty. copd makes it hard to breathe,

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and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. could have. patti ann: well a man attacked by a shark is expected to survive but first-responders say he may have his friends to thank for saving his life. the 29-year-old was surfing near port mccreary in knew castle, australia, when a bull shark attacked him three times. he managed to fight the shark off in the end witnesses say he probably never saw it coming. >> it was a heap of dolphins swimming around him. all of a sudden the shark came up and took about three chunks out of him. then he just got his board and put the nose of his

board into the bull shark's head. patti ann: emergency crews say that man's friends may have saved his life by using their board's leg ropes to stop the bleeding. gregg: hope is fading and time is running out obviously for a fiscal deal. president obama is though meeting with congressional leaders at the white house today. it's a move that tennessee senator bob corker says feels more like optics than anything else. while several other critics claim lawmakers may actually want to go off the fiscal cliff. and in fact some have said the president wants to go off the fiscal cliff. so, can a deal be reached? juan williams is a fox news political analyst. he joins us live. mary katharine ham, editor-at-large at hotair.com and is a fox news contributor. juan, what do you think about that notion? barrasso was the first one to say it on "fox news sunday" and you were there but others have said it since that the president really does want to go over

the cliff so that he can reap the benefits of all of the tax revenues that would be had by everybody's taxes going up? >> i think that is historical revisionism of a very current type. he is already trying to spin this because i think it is clear from the polls that most americans want a deal. they want a compromise. at the moment are blaming republicans and so i think that what he is trying to do at this point the president is delighted to go over the cliff because he see political advantage. gregg: why is he waiting so late, juan? >> i think everybody thinks we should have had a deal a long time ago. i'm foolish enough to have thought the odds were we would get a deal and both sides want something to happen here and acknowledge, yes, the president had some leverage because he won the election but i thought both sides had and they were very close to a deal, gregg. that is the crazy thing here. they were very close. we had implosions in terms of the boehner leadership unable to hold his troops together.

gregg: right. >> these guys are close. i think at this point, part of the negotiating dynamic is if we get close to the i have cliff you can get the troops to line up behind you and say, don't do it. that is terrible for the american people. that is bad way to run the government. gregg: mary katherine, no way to run a government but we've been saying that for 200 years. and i have too. but, mary katherine, look, what does it say about boehner's leadership, when he can't even get a vote on his own plan? >> no, i think that was a good opportunity for republicans to pass something. i think many of them made a mistake in foiling that plan because i think it was a decent one that had good points even though they obviously didn't get everything they wanted. i still think this could go either way. you guys point out this is no way to run a government and hasn't been for 200 years. i argue part of the reason we get into these situations a lot more often past couple years, one, we're running out of the money. two because democrats in the senate have failed to engauge even semblance of a

regular budget process. i would like to bring that back sometime in the near future. regardless i think this could go either way next couple days. it is encouraging they're meeting. it he is couraging the president has not put forth a plan publicly, if he announce as plan he doesn't have chance to sign on to there is possibility he negotiating in good faith. when mcconnell is involved in the end of these things he is the guy that tends to bridge the gap between boehner's house and the white house. maybe there's a chance here. gregg: juan, i was watching you last night on "hannity", after i woke from my concussion falling out of my chair, you said the president had offered a lot, i tried to put two and two together and i came up with zero. >> oh, no, goodness gracious is. i'm worried about you. i hope your head is okay. gregg: yeah. >> because look, the fact is when the president talks about a chain cpi would slow the growth of entitlement programs, he gets a real backlash on the left, gregg. that is concession he would

have to make the case to a lot of people this is what the left has to give in order to get speaker boehner, leader mcconnell, to say to his troops this is a good deal for us. this is the best we can get at this point. second thing i would mention to you, he also has said he is willing to hold hands with republicans in terms of some changes to medicare eligibility age, which is not going to be popular with america's seniors. a lot of people will scream bloody murder over that. so again, i think that was real concession. when you stop and think about it, here is the president saying, time and again, we have to have major spending cuts. he, even in terms of the tax hikes. >> he is counting spending cuts he already made. gregg: mary katherine, go ahead. >> he is counting old spending cuts he already made as part of the spending cuts. a lot of spending cuts are smokes and mirrors. we need a regular budget process to deal with the fact we have 87 trillion in unfunded liabilities. this unfortunately small ball meaning everything because we have these

imposed deadlines but actually it is not helping solve the actual problem. we'll see what happens in the next couple days. i do think there are political incentives for both democrats and john boehner who wants to be reelected speaker to go over the cliff. gregg: i talked to a firefighter and teacher yesterday, because i gave out my e-mail address. they say their taxes will go up 20 to $25,000 because of this. they live in the new york area. so you put their salaries together, it is like $250,000. but, that is not a lot of money actually when you get right down to it, for a family of six. firefighter and teacher, god mary katharine ham, juan williams thank you. >> happy new year, guys. gregg: all right. patti ann: well a last-ditch effort today to try to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff. we'll discuss that with ranking member of the house budget committee, democratic maryland congressman chris van hollen. i love 'em even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, evertime.

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gregg: the mexican government now urging a u.s. court to block arizona from enforcing a part of its immigration law that prohibits the harboring of undocumented immigrants. now attorneys representing mexico asked 9th circuit court of appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that blocked police from enforcing the ban. mexico argues this ban hurts diplomatic relations between

the two countries and encourages what they call the marginalization of mexicans and people who appear to be of latin descent. the ban was in effect from 2010 until a u.s. district judge blocked its enforcement in september. patti ann: as 2012 winds to a close we are looking back at the biggest health stories that made headlines across the country from infections to outbreaks and contaminations that put the nation on high alert. elizabeth prann is live in atlanta. hello, elizabeth. >> reporter: hi, patti ann. every year the government-run agency works to protect the public and promote a healthy lifestyle while free of viruses and diseases. 2012 was no exception. >> it's been a busy year for cdc or the. >> reporter: he lead agency that investigates and solves some of the world's big heft medical mysteries. deadly fungal outbreak

linked to steroid injections killed dozens of patients and caused serious illnesses in others. >> we worked with health departments in 23 states to help them notify 14,000 people exposed to the contaminated product. >> reporter: the steroid, used for treating joint and back pain, was produced by the compounding pharmacy in massachusetts called necc. >> compounding is certainly necessary. it's done safely in accordance with good manufacturing practices. >> reporter: 2012 was the year for highest number of mosquito borne west nile virus cases since 2003. >> 5000 cases, more than 200 deaths from west nile virus this year. >> reporter: several states also experienced food recalls from peanut butter to cantaloupe. >> at think one time at cdc we're looking 30 or 40 possible foodborne outbreaks. >> reporter: in each outbreak the cdc works to rapidly identify the on could tam nated product and get it off the market. the center also launched its

first national advertising campaign against tobacco use, with graphic portrayals of real people suffering serious smoking-related illnesses. >> very simply, that is the number one leading preventable cause of death. >> reporter: now, patti ann, millions of dollars of budget cuts forced the agency to work more efficiently. but he says further cuts could jeopardize the mission of the agency. back to you. patti ann: elizabeth prann in atlanta, thank you. gregg: eyeing washington's next move. there is the floor of the u.s. senate. yeah, that's the senate. oh, my goodness, they have reached a compromise? no, i'm kidding, sorry. we're waiting for president obama and congressional leaders to meet this afternoon just days before the fiscal cliff deadline. could we see a compromise before it's too late? patti ann: grab your shovels. we're tracking the second major snowstorm of the winter season. it could be brutal. we'll have a live report ahead where it's headed.

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patti ann: a fox news alert, update on a shooting inside a new jersey police station. this morning a suspect was being

taken into custody for a domestic violence incident, got into confrontations with officers, was somehow able to take a firearm and shoot three officers. one ofpser shot just below his bulletproof vest is reportedly in surgery. the other two officers sustained minor injuries and should be released from the hospital today. the gunman was reportedly killed in the incident. holiday cheer in short supply in the nation's capitol as president obama and congressional leaders get set for a last-ditch effort too avoid going over the fiscal cliff. time is running short and no agreement is in sight. both sides staring into the abyss and the frustration is going and the rhetoric is heating up. >> the president called me and probably called others last night. my impression is he would like to see us move forward. the action if there is any is

now on the senate side and we'll have to see whether we're able on a bipartisan basis to move forward. >> come the first of this year americans will have less income than they have today. john boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than about keeping the nation on firm, financial footing. it's obvious, mr. president what is going on around here. he's wait until january 3rd to get reelected as speaker, that is obvious from the debacker that took place last week, and it was a debacle. patti ann: a brandt ne brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm patti ann brown for martha maccallum. gregg: i'm gregg jarrett for bill hemmer. automatic tax hikes and spending cuts will be kicking in unless a deal is reached. how long the economy can sustain the one-two punch is anybody's question. patti ann: joining us now is steve moore from the "wall street journal." hopefully he can give us some answers.

good morning, steve. what is the most immediate impact in we go over the cliff? >> we are talking about january 2nd taxing rising on over a hundred million americans. this is a big sock to the wallet of americans of every income group. let's just talk about the middle class for a minute. for those earning about 45 to 75,000 a year they are looking at paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,500 a year more in taxes. it's not just the warn buffets and bill gates that will be hit by tax increases. the other part of the cliff that we don't talk that much about is the automatic spending cuts would take effect starting on january 2nd, an 8% reduction in major spending categories, national defense, many of what we call the domestic discretionary programs would also be hit. this is a big fiscal wallop to the economy and a lot of economists believe it could cause a double-dip recession. patti ann: on the other hand we

are hearing from lawmakers, some at lease on both sides that they would quickly, both houses, the house and senate pass legislation to rollback those tax hikes on at least some americans at the lower end, and that maybe they would end up keeping them for the higher end because once they are in much harder to remove those tax hikes. do you believe that that would happen? patti ann: yeah, look, i think a lot of this is high theater, this is just drama i think it's going to play out probably until december 31st, maybe it will be 11:00pm right before the stroke of midnight in the new year before these guys reach a deal, but i'm predicting they will maybe a deal i. talked to my congressional sources last night, they said the presiden the president in his overtures sounded much more conciliatory like he wanted to reach a deal. they are not that far apart on the tax issue. the president wants a $250,000 cut off in terms of income, the republicans proposed a million

dollars. you could see something happening where it would be a $500 increase or above i. don't want taxes going up on anybody, that may be a way to avert this real tragedy that would nap january if we don't get this solved. patti ann: why are we all focused on the tax hikes and not the spending cuts? >> good question. first of all, i believe cutting government spending is good for the economy, not bad for the economy. i actually think it would help the economy if bee go we got spending cuts in place. we have a debt out of control. many economists believe the opposite. if you believe that cutting spend is is bad for the economy then you would have believed the stimulus plan would have helped the economy and clear light didn't. i think they are still very questioned what to do on the spending. what are the big drivers, social security, medicare and medicaid

and that's something that they don't want to talk about. patti ann: there is a big debate over the capital gains tax, they want to raise that. every time there's been a raise in the capital gains tax revenues from capital gains have gone down because people cutback on their investments so it doesn't have the effect that they want. >> you're exactly right. you get an a in economics today, you were precisely right about that. raeugsraising the capital gains will not raise revenues it will reduce them. the other thing that goes up is dividend tax. any viewers out there companies will pay much smaller dividends because the taxes will be higher. remember two years ago we had the social security payroll tax cut that every american worker got, a 2% reduction in the payroll tax that we all pay, that is also supposed to go up. all of these taxes, capital

gains, dividends, the estate tax all of them are scheduled to go up on january 2-7bd. patti ann: i january 2nd. patti ann: steve moore, "wall street journal." thank you. gregg: this lawmakers do not reach a deal with regard to the fiscal cliff cuts will go into the defense department. >> reporter: the whole package of spending cuts is $1.2 trillion, half to the defense department. the army, navy, air force marines would take equal cuts according to one analyst who says the impact on the military overall will be, quote, very serious. >> the pentagon and the departments are already in financial trouble, because there has already been a $480 billion cut that is being applied right now as we speak. to take another cut on top of that is devastating.

>> reporter: it's not just the military itself that will take a hit, also the defense industry, defense contractors, private companies that do work for the pentagon. one democratic congressman in northern virginia whose district maybe hit the hardest by all of this says it could mean layoffs. >> the large defense contractors will probably be okay, they have significant cash reserves, most of them. the smaller contractors would have trouble getting their lines of credit extended, trouble keeping their employees, if they can't be assured of continued employment. >> reporter: congressman moran says if we go over the cliff, which he thinks we will, then the impact and severity of the automatic defense spending cuts depend how long they are in place into the new year before congress finally fixes this fiscal cliff problem. gregg: molly henneberg. these cuts were never expected to be enacted, were they? >> reporter: right, during the budget battle of 2011, remember that super committee they were

trying to find sending cuts during that time. these spending cuts were put in as an unthinkable trigger to force lawmakers to find a which too cut spending. >> they make it particularly unplatte hratable, they wanted it to come out of the budget. they thought it was too harsh, the secretary of defense said it would hollow out the military. we face the possibility now that it will hop. >> reporter: the only way to aeu sroeutd cutto avoid these cuts implemented is for the congress to act before the new year. gregg: i want to know whose idea it was. it came from the white house according to bob woodward "the pricef politics" the proposal was presented on behalf of the president. it's interesting that now he is struggling to try to deal with

his own proposal. >> reporter: and time is running short. patti ann: new york city police are looking for a woman who pushed a man into an oncoming train. this is video. witnesses told police she was following the victim closely and had been talking to herself before pushing him onto the tracks. >> who knows, maybe it was a fight. to think that they push somebody on the tracks. >> they say this is the last stop on the seven train. people asked what happened, the conductor said i don't know what happened. they weren't giving any info. patti ann: the man died at scene. this is the second time this month that a man has died after being pushed in front of a new york city subway. gregg: brand-new developments on the deadly christmas ev eve

killing of two volunteer firefighters in upstate new york. the note left behind by william spengler detailed how he got the guns he used from a former neighbor. arrests are pending. in the meantime those fire fighters will be laid to rest this weekend. a local hotel is offering free rooms to first responders who will be attending, all thanks to donations from people all over the country. >> the phones have been crazy, but that is just an amazing thing, the out pouring of the communities, the nation itself. we have people from florida, michigan have been calling in to donate hotel rooms for the firefighters coming in this weekend. >> if you personally didn't know, tomas and mike, for example, you knew of them and all the service they provided, so this is just a real tight community, and every everyone is trying to come up with things to

help people get through this horrible tragedy. >> they are extremely touched. they didn't even imagine the out pouring of support that they have locally here in rof rochester and nationwide with their brother firefighters. >> they were shot as they responded to the scene of a fire. he shot four tpao*eu firefighters, two of them were killed. patti ann: the winter snow is blamed nor 15 deaths nationwide. blizzard conditions and up to 20 inches of snow in some spots causing programs for holiday travelers trying to make their way back home. airlines canceled more than 1500 flights over the last few days leaving thousands of passengers stranded in airports. a flight that landed in pittsburgh got stuck in snow for about two hours on the tarmac last night. passengers were eventually bussed to the terminal where they waited for hours.

>> we slid. you could actually feel the plane sliding. somebody asked if they'd get a bus an hour and a half before they did and we got no response. >> at least within an hour they could have had it all set up and done there. >> we were left there for almost three years. >> i mean it's a comedy of errors. after a while you get mad and then you get real mad, then you get sad, and then it's just comical. patti ann: i'm glad she has a sense of humor. now there is another threat, though, of another storm and meteorologist maria molina is live in the fox weather center with the latest on that for us. hi again, maria. >> reporter: good to see you, good morning, everyone. we are tracking another storm system. the one about it of good news with this storm is that we are not really expecting to see any tornadoes out of it like we did with that last system across the south and snow mall accumulations will be less. some areas in upstate new york saw 15, 20 inches as well as in other areas. a lot of snow from the last

storm. right now we are already starting to see the snow falling across iowa, wisconsin, indiana. the accumulation should remain a couple of inches, nothing too severe. across portions of the south we have showers and storms and freezing rain starting to develop across portion of arkansas. keep that in mind if you're doing any driving out here. the northeast will see snow by early saturday morning and accumulations out here should be relatively light about three inches, some parts of eastern massachusetts and connecticut including rhode island could see over six inches of snow so keep that in mind you guys. patti ann: maria mow lean a thanks. gregg: the fiscal cliff is not the only threat facing the u.s. economy right now. shipments of all kinds could actually be stuck on cargo ships if a longshoreman strike goes ahead as planned. the stakes for the recovery coming up. patti ann: high noon in those fiscal cliff negotiations.

>> nothing have move forward in regards to our budget crisis unless speaker boehner and mitch mcconnell will go forward with our plan. speaker boehner is willing to negotiate, we have not heard a word from mitch mcconnell, and nothing is hang. patti ann: chris vanhollen joins us next. pwhrafp [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

. patti ann: fox news alert, potentially good news for the nation's housing market. pending home sales, which measure homes that are in contract and about to be sold rose 1.7% in november to the highest level in two and a half years. that is nearly double what experts were predicting, and the increase point to increased buyer demand and higher home sales and perhaps higher home prices in coming months. gregg: president obama set to meet with top congressional leaders from both parties today in one last-ditch effort to try to reach a deal on the fiscal

cliff not to mention the debt ceiling. do lawmakers hope to get anything out of this. or is it, well, for show? democratic marlin congressman chris van hollen joins us ranking member of the budget committee. thanks for taking a few moments. bob corker the u.s. senator said this is just for show, this is purely optics, the president is not sincere. what do you think? >> well this is not for show, this is a last-ditch effort by the president to bring the congressional leaders together to try and get at least a small package, a small deal together before the new year to avoid some of the tax parts of the fiscal cliff, and to deal with some of the unemployment issues. so, the president is very determined to try and do it, as you know, the house of representatives packed up its bags and went home. they are not even coming back until sunday night even though

the clock is ticking. gregg: you call it a small deal. don't americans deserve something more than a small deal from what is arguably small politician stph-s. politicians? >> well when i say a small deal i don't mean an unimportant deal especially in fact as you've been reporting on january 1st people's taxes will start to go up, a big tax hike for middle class americans and others. the bill that has been sitting in front of the house of representatives would say that 100% of american families get tax relief, tax cuts on their first $250,000 in income and for people making more than that they would pay a little bit more on the amount of income above $250,000. so when i say small deal i mean it's not the comprehensive proposal that the president had put forward just a few weeks ago, that speaker boehner walked away from, he then decided to bring his own package before the

house of representatives, which was rejected by his own party. so, here we are. gregg: yeah, but you've got 20 million americans under employed or unemployed. and these are people who are desperate to put food on the table, to pay their rent, to keep the roof over their houses, and they have no expectation that congress is going to do anything to help them. don't they deserve more than that? >> well certainly millions of americans are out there struggling, and certainly they deserve a congress that will avoid going over the fiscal cliff, which is why the president has been working hard to try and bring all the leaders together. i think you and your viewers should know that speaker boehner has refused to hold a vote on the bill that would pass the senate that would avoid the fiscal cliff. we are not even asking him to vote for it. just let the house do its business. gregg: it takes more than one

side to compromise, congressman, you know that compromise is endemic in washington politics. i had our brain room confirm this. they say there has been no face-to-face discussion between the president and anybody on the republican side in eleven days. i mean, he's the leader of the country. >> and why is that? gregg: he could call a discussion any time he wants an hasn't, which does question the sincerity of the president. >> do you know the answer to why that is? why is that? it's because speaker boehner walked away from the talks that he was having with the president. that is a matter of public record. i mean the president can't force the speaker to talk. what happened was the speaker walked out of the talks with the president, the speaker then decided to come up with a plan that says he's going to ask people making over a million dollars to pay a little bit more in taxes to help reduce the deficit. it was rejected by his own party, and so then he sent his members home on vacation.

i'm over on the senate side right now, they are in session. speaker boehner let the house members go, so first he walked out of the talks with the president, and then he sent everybody home on vacation. obviously we need to have compromise. the senate bill that passed out of the senate many, many weeks ago had compromise. it was passed by republicans and democrats. all we're asking is that speaker boehner hold a vote on that bill. i don't know why he's afraid to even hoet a vote. hold a vote. that is allowing the process to work, allow democrats and republicans in the house to dash. gregg: he said they already voted on a plan to extend all the tax cuts. >> but they had a vote in the senate on that plan and they voted it down, and then on a bipartisan basis they passed another bill. gregg: 0 out of time. thanks for taking a few moments to be with us. it's good to be with you.

chris van hollen.

patti ann: former president george h.w. bush remains in inch teps i have care at a houston hospital where he's being treated for a persistent cough, and a fever and a cough. we are being told by his camp that his condition is not dire. mike to be inch is live in houston. what kind of update do you have for us? >> reporter: we are in a position to say right now that

no news is good news. spokes people for the former president have indicated that they will be pretty judicious with information, partly out of concern that this is such a beloved former president that people will overreact with any information they get. that being said, president george herbert walker bush is very sick and inventory tensive care at the moment. he was admitted to the hospital in late november with a pretty significant case of bronchitis which triggered a series of complications including a fever, a subject born fever that the former president can't seem to shake. he's in intensive care right now. they indicated they are not in a hurry to move him from the hospital while he is in this condition an is in fact 88 years old. we have a line from one of the staff members kind of reflective of the former president's dry witt, sayin wit saying you can put the harps back in the closet.

patti ann: he has issued a statement regarding the passing of general schwart general schwartz cough. >> reporter: yes he has. he was too pull a line from the spokesman most of the civilized world is reaching out with concern for the 41st president. gregg: it could cost the u.s. economy billions of dollars and we are not talking the fiscal cliff, we are talking about a massive strike that could shut down virtually every major port from massachusetts to texas. is that going to happen? a live report. patti ann: plus hazmat crews on the scene of an explosion at an industrial park. the developing details next. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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patti ann: fox news alert. hazmat units are on the scene of an explosion at an industrial waste facility in cincinnati. two people have been injured. roads have been closed off as hazmat and fire crews work to extinguish any hot spots and clear the scene. we are told some workers were shredding an industrial filter one taken a chemical sensitive to friction and it sparked the flash fire.

gregg: the u.s. economy is concern le certainly bracing for a massive hit. it can barely afford 14,000 longshoreman planning to foe on strike on sunday. that lockdown could shut down every port from houston to boston bringing commerce to a near standstill in the u.s. the white house is urging all sides to continue negotiations and get a deal done as quickly as possible. phil keating is live in miami with more on that. phil, what seems to be the hang up here? >> reporter: well, there are wages as with every labor dispute. the key sticking point is container royalty fees. every container weighs a certain amount and the longshoreman get paid more the heavier each container is. well the shipping companies want to cap those levels, those salary subsidies at last year's levels. the longshoreman of course do not want that, and the deadline to work this out is late, late, late this saturday night.

now a strike this size it will absolutely be big impact, because inside all of these containers are things like electronics, computer components, clothing, auto par parts, airline parts and all for distribution to u.s. households far inland from our coastal ports. experts say if the strike does happen you can bet the economy will be seriously hurt. >> there was a strike in long beach and los angeles a few weeks ago and that was just clerks and it cost that area $1 billion a day. this is going to cost a lot more money than $1 billion a day. >> reporter: all up and down the east coast and gulf coast every major port will be impacted, this goes from boston, new york, new jersey, philadelphia, all the way through florida and down to houston, texas. again, the white house urging both side to work this out. there is a federal mediate erin solved, however all sides right now, the union as well as the

maritime alliance not talking publicly, all talks are very secretive. gregg: phil, are all of the containers impacted here, and thus will these ports entirely freeze? >> reporter: it is not going to be a universal impact. for example, cruise ships those also depend on containers to get all the supplies for each outgoing cruise, cruise ships will not be impacted by this. all containers containing military product, that is not household goods for the troops but seriously very important military product that will not be affected. also non-perishable foods, thins that would spoil in a matter of days inside containers, those also will not be impacted. but this does mean many, many jobs, just florida alone it's half a million jobs dependent on the states' ports and the governor is urging along with the national retail federation and president obama to enact an

act that would forbid a strike if the talks break down. >> our message to president obama is simple, this is not an option for florida families. >> reporter: the last u.s. president to invoke taft-hartley it was george w. bush in 2002 stopping a work stoppage on the west coast. many people feel if we do go over the fiscal cliff and the strike happens that will be a one-two knockout punch to the economy guaranteeing a recession. gregg: phil keating in miami, thanks. patti ann: disturbing new evidence on the medical dangers stemming from a shortage of some cancer drugs. a report in the new england journal of medicine find that children and young adults who sake substitutes of those drugs are more likely to suffer relapsess of cancer. so how bad is this situation? joining us now dr. steven garner of new york methodist hospital. thank you for being with us. we are talking about 300

different drugs here. how bad this is sth. >> i think it's pretty bad. you're dealing with drugs that are used sproe ra sore rad likely for certain patients. we are dealing with rare drugs and there is not a lot of mark up. if your child god morbid has lymphoma and you say we have the treatment but not the medication available you find it hard to believe, right in the united states. patti ann: when people resort to substitutes for these drugs the study shows that they are suffering. >> in this case you have a 12% chance of a relapse if you took the regular medication, if you took the substitute you had a 25% chance. nobody died in it but a lot of kid who had the execute medication had to undergo extra medication an extra radiation and as a result maybe inch for the he will, have other problems down the road. it's a very sad story and it's not really regulated that much. i mean this is a dutch-based company that has a branch in the united states that had problems

with the manufacturing plant. it's only manufacturing on one site. once you knockout a plant and are only manufacturing on one site you have no back up. patti ann: that is the reason for this massive shortage? >> both of these again, they are generic, there is not a lot of money involved and number two they are made only at isolated plants. we saw tylenol problems in their plant that shut them down, it's just that we had enough back up. patti ann: is the fda reacting to this study? are they taking any action. >> president obama issued some kind of what he wanted to be done. number one that the companies report it more freely so we know where the short anal is, and number two to expedite the review process to get new drugs and manufacturing plants online you need a review process. this will speed up the fda process. this is from 2010, we haven't seen that much of a benefit as of kwhret but it's a step in the right direction. >> that's to get new plants online to make the original

drugs. what about the more stricter controls on the substitutes in. >> that is really -- if you use it at a hospital it requires going through an irb, a review board you can't just do it. you have to get permission to do it. but it's not that the drugs, the substitute drugs are not good or not well made it's just that they don't do as well in the regiment. you have a recipe for chocolate cake, you leave out the butter it's not going to take as good if you put margarine in. >> the stakes much higher here. thank you for joining us again from the new york methodist hospital. gregg. gregg: following the storm that left behind a path of destruction beginning with a tornado and outbreak in the south. look at that videotape. this is new surveillance video of one of those tornadoes tearing through walgreens in mobile, alabama. look at that. one woman in her car was swept up by the tornado then slammed back down about a hundred feet away. she has a smashed up arm and a garb on her head but otherwise

she is okay. >> very lucky. i count my blessings. you only see it in the movies. at least you think you never, ever would experience something like that. but i can honestly say i did. >> i was standing right there and i turned and i looked, and i looked again and i just -- i just ran and the aftermath -- i never seen anything like this. i was in karina and i never seen anything like this. >> kind of huddled in there and waited it out. the only lasted 15 seconds but it seemed like a real longtime. gregg: as many as 19 tornadoes swept through alabama on christmas night. patti ann: incredible video that we get now of these things with the availability of video. gregg: truly amazing. patti ann: terrifying. many law students have studied hard and spent a ton of money to go to law school only to graduate without a job. some students have sued claiming that the schools skewed unemployment statistics.

a legal debate on that next. a jeep plunges into an icy lake with a mother and young daughter inside. what happened in the following moments that saved their lives?

patti ann: scientists are look at whether connecticut school shooter adam lanza's dna may have played a role in the rampage. they are looking for

abnormalities that may have led to aggression. this first of a kind study has some scientists concerned that a stigma could be tied to people who have those types of abnormalities. gregg: there is a growing debate now over weather dozen of our nation's law schools are guilty of ethics violations because of employment stats that the school uses to recruit new students. now some jobless and unemployment, and under employment law school grads have sued their alma maters claiming the school manipulate the today the a. so far none of the law staout lawsuits have succeeded. but one professor says schools who practice those laws could face ethics violations because of the stats. we have keith sullivan, and tomorrow kaniff. keith you teach at a couple of

law schools, is it the law school or the professor. >> it's not on behalf of the law schools, it's indeed this specific law professor from missouri. the ethical rules are clear. if you believe that an attorney has violated the ethical rules as this professor has said you have an obligation to report those attorneys. gregg: what specifically? >> it's what is known as the snitch rule. this attorney should have -- this professor, rather should have filed a complaint with the disciplinary committee instead of writing a collar lee article and stimulating a debate. i disagree with the professor's premise. law schools are providing you what you're paying for is an academic legal experience, they are not promising you a job. gregg: what do you think? >> i think i want to go after the whole legal educational complex. as a legal employer myself i can tell you that my heart goes out to anyone graduating law school right now. mr. sullivan wants to say that they are providing you a legal education, a socratic-type experience, that's fine.

put that on the brochure. have it in big letters when you get the nice gloss see brochure and say look, we are not here providing you with the skills you need to actually pay back this $250,000 in debt we'll saddle you werement we are providing you with an educational experience and let the cards fall where they may. it's absolutely an ethical problem. to realize how wrong this is look at what goes on in medical schools. you don't see thousands of medical students graduating medical school with no prospect of employment. if the medical schools can calibrate the number of admission slots to the need for doctors why can't the a ba do the exact same thing. gregg: i did teach a law school class and what they represented to their students, and truth there is no resemblance. >> the data that the students is relying on i data required by the law schools to provide it to the american bar association. they filled out the forms as the

aba has requested. every single one of these lawsuits has failed they've been tossed out of court. the students cannot successfully bring a fraud breach of contract suit. legally it's wrong -- >> my personal opinion, again with all due respect to sully i think you have a lot of judges, a lot of higher ups in the legal profession and they are looking out for their own, they are protecting the law schools and this educational complex because the reality is yes, the aba may require them to provide statistics but they are not telling them hey go provide statistics that aren't accurate. gregg: i was talking to a managing partner of a big law firm who said we aren't even hiring at harvard and yale nowadays. >> the market out there, gregg, it's decimated, it's so tough. they know that, the students know that when they enter law school. >> i'm note sure they do. >> why hasn't the number of slots been reduced. why is the aba still commissioning two or three different law schools a year if

the market is that decimated. gregg: the students i taught, they asked me, can you help me and you know i really continue because nobody is hiring out there. and yet they were sort of informed, you look at the gloss see brochure, and you're going to be a big-time lawyer in new yo [laughter] >> if you look closely at brochure it simply tells you this is present data. it doesn't guarantee future job prospects in three or four years. gregg: i think they are living in the 1980s, when i graduated from law school you could get a job fairly easily. >> you're a smart guy. gregg: i graduated in the top 98 of my chance. >> thank the lord i've never been out of work one day as a lawyer. so this isn't sour grapes but at the same time you can't put on blinders and say you can't recognize what i would say is the fraud that is being perpetrated on these students who are graduating today. gregg: the other thing that's changed is, law schools, some of them were free. mine was free, the university of

california. nobody is free nowadays. i know you're laughing at it. >> you got a free ride. >> i'm lucky they let me n. >> uc was free. nobody is free now. so these kids are graduating with huge bills, they'll never get out from under. >> nobody who goes to law school plans on being a lawyer, they plan on using the degree in the legal world, entrepreneurs, whatever it may be. i've sat in on the meetings, i've looked at materials, it tells you this statistic is based on a response of 30% of last year's graduate. gregg: last word, tom. >> the fine print may be there but it's the practice itself. every state has an unfair deception and acts practices statute. the law schools should be held to the highest standard. if their going going out and suing the bar a little bit, no pun intended to get people to come in and take on this enormous debt i think they should be held accountable just like everyone else should be. gregg: good to see you both.

patti ann: the u.s. government is the nation's largest asset holder managing hundreds of billions of assets including buildings and hrafpbltd why selling these some say could make a big dent in our deficit. gregg: man doesn't leave his best friend even when he falls through the ice. okay, here's the plan. you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my motr was so wrong about you. next, we get priory boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card.

gregg: i want to show you this new video of a dramatic rcue in china. a young woman getting money from an atm machine is grabbed from behind and then a knife is put to her throat. there you see it. you can see the man holding her. a special unit of police and professional negotiators dispatched immediately to the scene after two hours finally able to take him down. wow. patti ann: the u.s. government is the nation's largest assett holder managing nearly 900,000 buildings and 640 million acres of land. in short hundreds of billions worth of assets that it could sell off to pay down the national debt. some say it's time for the government to start selling. william la jeunesse is live with that story for us.

>> reporter: when trying to reduce federal spending any single line item is either diminished as a droop in the bucket or praised at ever penny count. although no individual program will solve this budget crisis what to peel do when money is tight, when you're already borrowing money for every dollar you spend? you raise money with a garage sale. from state-owned businesses like amtrak to vacant buildings like these in california, is it time for the federal government to sell what it doesn't need? >> instead of raising taxes, which takes money out of the economy and lowers the economy activity we ought to be looking at selling federal a assets. >> reporter: like the empty va hospital for 5 billion, or a waterfront military base in san francisco. in both cases politicians said no. >> a congressman is representing his district. a senator is representing his or her state. they want to make sure that they are taken carve, and sometimes that may get in the way of what

is best for the nation. >> reporter: the federal government is also america's business eug biggest landlord selling just 20% of its empty or under performing buildings would save $2 billion. >> you go through your garage, you clear it out and the government is no different. the scale is what we're talking about. >> reporter: the feds refuse to sell valuable public land adjacent to fast-growing cities and let mining companies take billions in gold and silver for free without charging royalties like we do for oil and natural gas. selling amtrak could net 60 billion. two tax pier owned utilities, the tennessee valley authority and bon aville power would bring in even more. a commission could oversee the sale to overcome partisan opposition. >> the commission could look at all of the federal assets, decide which were the most valuable, which could be sold with the least lost los loss to the common good. >> reporter: as dysfunctional as

the federal government is and red tape opposing political forces, don't expect them to embrace these proposals unless they get very desperate or creative. patti ann: thank you. gregg: time is ticking away for congress. many lawmakers plan on sticking around the capitol through the weekend. will they have a fiscal cliff deal to vote on before the new year in the latest from washington coming up. >> they are going to be voting sunday night, and then probably watching the skins cowboys game in the cloak room, and then we'll be in session on december 31st as well.

gregg:. welcome back. a mother and her 5-year-old daughter lucky to be alive after their suv ran into a frigid lake. the mom was able to pull herself and her daughter out of truck as witnesses jump in to save them. >> the vehicle floated shortly. the occupants were able to get themselves out and then the bystanders went in the water to help them get to shore. >> when i got there to see the truck sink was less than two minutes. the mom gets out of the car and turns around and pulls her daughter out of the, out of the back seat driver's side window.

>> i didn't think they were going to make it. gregg: wow, that is amazing. mother and daughter are going to be okay. another icy rescue in michigan. a man fell into the lake trying to save a dog that fell into the lake. the victim was walking the dog when it wandered off into the ice. the ice fell underneath him. when they tried to pull the dog to shore they were both under it for a while. we're told they're going to be okay. patti ann: new year's eve is just days away. we have a programing reminder. gregg:. i know what i'm going to do? i will watch bill and megyn kelly. patti ann: that is an excellent idea. i will be doing the same thing. i will be here doing that same thing. they are hosting fox news channel's all american new year's eve. the coverage starts at 11:00 p.m. eastern time on monday night. get your own happy new year's message on the show.

text, utext, with a space and greeting. to 36288. send it to 36288 and tune in to watch tour message. gregg: i love new year's eve because you make all the new year's resolutions. have you thought about that? patti ann: they don't usually last long. i'm not a new year's eve fan. gregg: you watch make begin and bill. any new year's resolutions? >> no. gregg: none that you can talk about. we know, right. all right, that will do it for us. we hope you have a wonderful weekend. i will be back here tomorrow with heather childers, 4:00 to 6:00. i will be back here in a couple hours with heather. patti ann: we'll cover the fiscal cliff. the negotiations continuing. the debt ceiling we have it all for you. i will back